February 2023 - Sunnyside Trading Co.

It’s Time to Play!

Do you remember what it’s like to play with finger paints? Perhaps your particular memories involved playing in the mud, as did many a kid who spent significant time outdoors. Regardless, there’s something magical about that activity – being able to absolutely lose yourself in play. For those moments, the only world that existed was you and your paint. This is essentially the definition of the verb “to play:” engaging in an activity “for enjoyment and recreation rather than a serious or practical purpose.” Our sole purpose is pleasure. And, as an outcome, we experience joy. Why, then, as adults do we shy away from play?

Why Wait for Joy?

In Asheville, North Carolina, February starts the final leg of winter. With long cold days and (what seems like) long cold nights, we’ve been cooped up since November, waiting for the first glimpses of Spring. Winter can be a hard season, for many reasons. For one, as the outside world is resting up for Spring, our lives shift indoors. Perhaps we are forced to slow down for a little bit. I find this to be especially hard in our fast-paced world that calls us constantly to the next thing. Before long, we are back to absent-mindedly running from task to task and jumping ahead to our Spring Break plans and summer adventures. I wonder, though, what we might lose by not simply savoring what is right in front of us in the present moment?